The invention is in the field of telescopic joints or support braces wherein a telescopic action is desired to make length adjustments, and when the appropriate length is reached, one of the telescoping tubes can be tightened down at the joint relative to the other.
Although numerous such devices exist, such as for camera tripods and other applications where a lightweight, telescoping leg or support is needed, the inventor had a rather specialized need in the construction of telescoping braces for solar panels. It became necessary to utilize braces that were not only capable of being set at a fixed length, but also, for convenience of installation, that once the length had been established, rotation between the members was still possible.
The amount of rotational freedom required would not be enough to require complicated ball bearing joints, of which no doubt many could be found. Rather, the two tubes needed to be rotatably adjustable by the application of force delivered by hand, such that the tubes, although rotational were still under substantial rotational friction and would not rotate back or shift from the position in which they had been set.